Paying for premium gas can be a waste of money

Many people use premium gasoline thinking that it’s better for their engine than regular. That can be a costly mistake, especially when gas prices are high. Octane grades don’t represent a “good, better, best” choice; they simply measure the resistance of fuel to knocking or pinging, a condition in which gasoline burns uncontrollably in the engine’s combustion chambers. Knocking and pinging can damage an engine.

While high-octane formulations resist knocking better than lower octanes, most engines are designed to take regular gas, which has an octane rating of about 87. Engines requiring premium gas are typically the more powerful ones found in sports and luxury vehicles, which are more vulnerable to knocking, so recommended fuels have octane ratings of 91 or higher. Using premium gas in an engine designed to run on regular doesn’t improve performance.